THE family of a Winchester man whose body was found in woodland 10 months after he disappeared have criticised the hospital where he was staying before his death, a court has heard.

Grant Maddocks, of Staple Gardens, was 52 when he went missing on August 5, 2022, after spending a period of time at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester because of medical conditions – including "wet brain" – caused by his alcohol abuse.

He left the ward he was staying in that day unannounced, later getting on a bus in the direction of Oliver's Battery. This was the last time he was seen.

His remains were found almost a year later in the undergrowth of a heavily wooded area near Hurdle Way, Compton, in June 2023. 

READ MORE: Inquest opens into death of Grant Maddocks missing for 10 months

Grant MaddocksGrant Maddocks Mr Maddocks's brother and father, who attended an inquest into his death at Winchester Coroners' Court held on November 28, criticised what they felt was the hospital's standoffish approach to informing the family about how he was getting on.

His brother, Keith Maddocks, said: “There was a communication failure the whole time he was in that hospital.”

He added that Mr Maddocks had fallen during his stay there, but his family had not been informed.

Moreover, he expressed frustration that he was only contacted three hours after Mr Maddocks walked out of the RHCH, and then only by police, not the hospital.

In that space of time, his phone had stopped receiving signal.

Keith and Grant's father, Ron Maddocks, said: “I wouldn’t say the hospital covered itself in glory, to be honest.”

Speaking on behalf of the team who cared for Mr Maddocks, Tracey Leddington, who works at the RHCH, explained that the staff there would have had no power to detain their patient even if he had announced his departure.

She added that Mr Maddocks had been admitted to the RHCH with a three-to-four-day history of "confusion" in early July 2022, and that he had been declared to have "mental capacity" on August 4.

Keith and Ron Maddocks disagreed with this, saying he must still have been confused when he left the hospital.

READ MORE: What happens at an inquest and what can the press report?

At the full inquest on November 28, assistant coroner Kiran Chahal-Musgrave ruled that the cause of Mr Maddocks' death was "open", as it was impossible to trace his final moments with any degree of certainty.

The coroner said: "That is because I simply cannot say how he came to his death, whether it was natural, whether it was misadventure."

She added: “Sincerely, I’m sorry for your loss. Losing someone in any way is horrendous, but particularly what you guys went through.”